Observer trait anxiety is associated with response bias to patient facial pain expression independent of pain catastrophizing.

BACKGROUND

Top-down characteristics of an observer influence the detection and estimation of a sufferer's pain. A comprehensive understanding of these characteristics is important because they influence observer helping behaviours and the sufferer's experience of pain.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the hypothesis that individuals who score high in trait anxiety would perceive more intense pain in others, as indicated by a larger negative response bias, and that this association would persist after adjusting for pain catastrophizing.

METHODS

Healthy young adult participants (n=99; 50 male) watched videos containing excerpts of facial expressions taken from patients with shoulder pain and were asked to rate how much pain the patient was experiencing using an 11-point numerical rating scale. Sensitivity and response bias were calculated using signal detection methods.

RESULTS

Trait anxiety was a predictor of response bias after statistically adjusting for pain catastrophizing and observer sex. More anxious individuals had a proclivity toward imputing greater pain to a sufferer.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals scoring higher on trait anxiety were more likely to impute pain to a sufferer. Anxious caregivers may be better able to respond with appropriate intervention once pain behaviour is detected, or they may exacerbate symptoms by engaging in excessive palliative care and solicitous behaviour.